Flamepaw's Destination

Chapter 5

Both Flamepaw and Barkpaw stood in the center of the RiverClan camp, completely dumbstruck and terrified. The entire clan was empty with not a single trace of any cat left behind. The reality had not yet sunk in to Flamepaw, and her mind could only question where the clan had gone and when they'd return.

Perhaps they were all searching for us, Flamepaw wondered. Or maybe there was a large patrol sent out because one of the other clans was getting a bit too close to the border.

But it was useless. Flamepaw knew the disappearance of the clan could not be the result of a good thing. It wasn't as if the leaving of the clan had been planned. She and Barkpaw had no knowledge of this disappearance, and Flamepaw suspected that if they had been asleep in their nests at night, they too would be gone.

While this thought was somewhat relieving to Flamepaw, her heart was shattered at the thought of perhaps never seeing her clanmates again.

Flamepaw let out a startled cry and fell to the ground. Barkpaw immediately turned to her and stood by her side as she let out yelps and tears. He stood beside her and did not speak at all, only running his tail up and down her back as she sobbed.

It wasn't fair. She'd been gone for moons searching for her leader. And when she'd returned, she'd been overcome with nightmares. But now that they were finally gone, now that she finally been happy and excited to be an apprentice in RiverClan, her friends, family, acquaintances, had all disappeared without a trace.

Barkpaw seemed to understand this with his silence, as his eyes gazed into Flamepaw's with empathy. He too had lost his family and clan. Therefore Flamepaw guessed he felt less pain going through an experience like this before.

But this was an entirely new experience for Flamepaw. She had lost everyone in but a mere night and had no idea where her clan was. Would she ever find them again? Would she ever be reunited with them? What if she never became a warrior?

She sighed, her tears beginning to cease as she faced reality. Thinking about a warrior was a foolish thought at the moment. For now, she had to focus on finding her clan. She glanced up at Barkpaw, glad that she was not facing this alone. She couldn't imagine taking on this task all by herself.

"Feeling better?" Barkpaw asked softly.

Flamepaw nodded and sat back up, still sniffing occasionally.

"How about some breakfast?" Barkpaw suggested. "Then we'll talk."

Flamepaw wasn't in the least bit hungry, but she found herself nodding. She remained in the same position, watching as Barkpaw retrieved a fish from the still-full fresh-kill pile. With the fresh-kill pile still being full, Flamepaw burst with hope, wondering if it was left that way because the clan would return.

Barkpaw trotted back and dropped the fish in front of her. They remained silent as they ate, Flamepaw only nibbling at the fish while Barkpaw gobbled the rest down. When the thin white bones of the fish remained, Barkpaw opened his mouth to speak. Before he could let a word fly through his mouth, however, Flamepaw interrupted him.

"What are we going to do?!" she exclaimed, feeling the tears and hysterics returning.

"Well, first, remain calm," Barkpaw ordered, which hushed Flamepaw up.

"We have to find them," Flamepaw muttered.

"They may not necessarily be missing," Barkpaw pointed out.

"What do you mean?! The entire clan isn't here! Of course they're missing!" she hissed in rage. 

"I'm not suggesting they just decided to leave, but if they are in danger, keep in mind the clan is strong. RiverClan is much stronger than my old clan, and I have faith that the clan can come together and return home no matter what they're facing. If we were just to throw ourselves after them, we may be put in a dangerous situation with them."